2023 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[dodgeman]

I did 15 miles today. A couple of times I’ve ridden and started out with light winds and then you pick up a stronger tailwind on the way home. Today it was opposite, almost no wind starting out and then a head wind coming back. I didn’t think to get any pictures so one of my bike in front of my shop.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Who’s up for some Surf and Turf?

We’ve never combined two of our favorite pastimes together on one trip before and it’s a wonder why it didn’t occur to us to do this sooner. Pedaling and paddling.

This is where it all began for us 36 years ago. The Kananaskis Lodge is where we first met and worked. It’s changed ownership three times but the memories we have of this place will remain with us for eternity. This trip represents a belated anniversary for us so it was a no brainer to bring the boats and bikes along to reignite some youthful exuberance.

This would be my wife’s second trip up to the Highwood Pass and third for me. It never gets easier and we both knew that the unrelenting midday heat would reign down upon us without mercy. An hour into the ride and the mercury rose to 36 C.



Heading up a climb at the start of the ride. We managed fine without the need for REs on our previous outings up the Pass and we both finished the ride with 38-40% charge remaining on the internals.

The road surface conditions don’t change much at this elevation as the winter months are particularly brutal on the shoulders. Rumble strips, cracks and fissures don’t leave much room for error especially with vehicles zooming by us at over 120 kph. Hwy 40 is a popular stretch of road for motorcycles and being this was Sunday, they came out in droves.

These spikes of rosy purple fireweed were nice to see along the otherwise rather mundane roadside.

Superb views of the surroundings hit you almost every time you look up which makes this road such a wonderful place to cycle.

Up at the Rock Glacier, we noticed a small campervan parked along the road sporting Euro registration plates on its front and rear. It wasn’t until I arrived home and discovered the van’s Polish origin (WIL - Lipsko County). It appears that it was being driven by one of @Stefan Mikes countrymen/women likely making a coast-to-coast venture. What a life, eh?

It’s always a great feeling to reach the summit but we weren’t done yet as we decided to carry on further up the road to the Lineham Day use area.

Views from the Ptarmigan Cirque rest stop before we pushed further on up the highway.

There were not as many roadies out on this day but the few we encountered seemed just as enthusiastic despite the soaring temperatures.

Once we reached our destination at the Lineham Rec Area, the vistas were still in view but the intense heat from the pavement lessened our desire to ride any further.

On the return leg to Highwood, we couldn't resist a last moment decision to snap an obligatory shot.

Just as we were heading back down the pass, we spotted this fellow on his low slung recumbent as he reached the top. I can't imagine the heat reflection from that down low. Pretty impressive.

At this point, we would welcome anything remotely resembling even the slightest of a breeze so rocketing down a section of the pass at a top speed of 75 kph was pure bliss.

No kidding.

This second group came up on us fast and we had to decelerate abruptly to safely pass by.

Back at our starting point at the King Creek Trail and a nice reprieve from the blistering heat of the afternoon. We look forward to the second day of our trip which should be much cooler. Stay tuned.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Day 2 – Upper Kananaskis Lake (Peter Lougheed Provincial Park)

We never tire of paddling this lake as the vistas are exceptional particularly when seen from the water.

Mornings are the best time to start as winds funneling down from the peaks later in the day can create choppy conditions for the inexperienced paddler. We got off to a rather late start and by the time we launched it was already past 10:30 am. To make matters worse, we were caught off guard by a large grizzly which came lumbering down the beach looking for any morsels that fishing boats could have left behind at the boat ramp. He was about 100 meters from us as we hurriedly rushed to get in our boats. We shouted to others close by as no one seemed to notice except my wife and I. No pics of the bear as this wasn’t a good time to play chicken.

Once on the water, things settled into place and we took in the views of Mts Lyautey and Sarrail.

Picturesque Turret Falls. Just as it is on two wheels, you see so much more up close on the water.

A great day to be on the water as these paddle boarders were casually making their way along the shoreline.

A restful place to stop for a snack and take in the views.

No time to dawdle as the winds picked up and we decided to head back but managed to sneak in a few more shots of the vistas.

It was an unreal two days of seeing what K-Country has to offer and a stroll down memory lane for the both of us.

Hope to post some video footage of the trip but for the time being we hope that you enjoy the pics.

 

[RabH]

Hope to post some video footage of the trip but for the time being we hope that you enjoy the pics.

Nah, they are pretty average...

My mouth was wide open looking at them all, truly spectacular!

 

[dodgeman]

I’m not sure but I think I’ve seen your kayak on here before, I’m not sure, but it’s a work of art in itself. Nice scenery to say the least.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Nah, they are pretty average...

My mouth was wide open looking at them all, truly spectacular!

Thanks Rab and I totally concur. Those same captivating views hold special meaning for us.

I’m not sure but I think I’ve seen your kayak on here before, I’m not sure, but it’s a work of art in itself. Nice scenery to say the least.

You might have seen images that I posted of the Redfish Silver in the hobbies/interests thread. It took me an entire summer to build and I’m somewhat anxious to start another as my wife has unofficially claimed title to the Silver. Here's an image of the epoxy laminated walnut cockpit coaming clamped into position and of it filed, sanded, and glassed complete with thigh braces.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Up at the Rock Glacier, we noticed a small campervan parked along the road sporting Euro registration plates on its front and rear. It wasn’t until I arrived home and discovered the van’s Polish origin (WIL - Lipsko County). It appears that it was being driven by one of @Stefan Mikes countrymen/women likely making a coast-to-coast venture. What a life, eh?

WLI, Lipsko county Mazovia. Art, I did not even know we had such a county (it looks it is in the southernmost Mazovia). You gave me a splendid idea for a long vacation ride! Thank you! I'm so jealous you could be kayaking! I would love to do so, just missing a partner!

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One

There are many good movies to see in theatres now. I started with the Ethan Hunt sequel. The next would be the "Oppenheimer", and I intend to complete the cinema season with the latest "Indiana Jones". No "Barbie"!

I took my Vado 6.0 to get to a cinema around 14 km away from my place. Vado just "explained" to me what it was designed for: a commuter e-bike. 35 minutes pedalling each way, silently, fast, effortlessly, and totally comfortably! I especially enjoyed the return ride at night, with the road splendidly lit with the Supernova headlight.

It's going to be a movie week!

At the Janki (pronounce: Yankee) shopping centre. Made friends with a security guard riding a Segway. He told me he had been avoiding riding a Segway for 12 years until he felt he had to start moving on the vehicle!

When I was riding through Suchy Las, I could spot a police car in a speed-trap. I wondered if the policemen would notice I was moving faster than 25 km/h but I must have looked pretty normal to them

 

[Prairie Dog]

WLI, Lipsko county Mazovia. Art, I did not even know we had such a county (it looks it is in the southernmost Mazovia). You gave me a splendid idea for a long vacation ride! Thank you! I'm so jealous you could be kayaking! I would love to do so, just missing a partner!

Thank my better half as she was the first one to spot the van. We both thought that they were simply attached vanity plates as some like to advertise their roots to others. Not sure how this tourist managed to transport it over here but I hope that he/she or both are enjoying their trip. There are many alpine lakes in both our provincial and national parks but due to its larger size, the Upper Kananaskis is popular with day users and even though a back country campsite exists at the far end of the lake it's only accessible by hiking there or by boat.

 

[Chargeride]

The quality of the pictures have really ramped up on here, I'll just posy my lazy screen grabs .

Back from our caravan holiday in Talybont in Barmouth bay.
I wasnt really supposed to be biking, it was all about the grandson, so I got up at 7am to ride up the coast to Harlech.

The site was very clean, and quite cozy, but the coast here is actually quite stark and uninviting at first, but you warm to it when you see it in different weather conditions

This sand dune was a good 100ft high and the bike amazed me by climbing it with ease, the sand was just right for traction.

The climb up from the beach to the castle was unbelievable, first gear only even in a car, but the bike cruised up it with ease.

The town of Harlech has a slightly unworldly feel to it, its dominated by the castle, the tourist shops, but its pretty well middle of nowhere and all the beaches are completely undeveloped.
It must have felt like the end of the world 700 years ago.

They were enacting various medieval, trades, fights and romances, the actors were really into it and stayed in character at all times, it really gave you a sense of times gone by.
Hilariously I wandered down an obscure path and caught two of them actually having a real passionate kiss, him in light chain mail and her in a long hooded cloak.
She smiled and said 'good day to you sir'.
Im not sure if it was a setup, but it was unlikely anyone but an idiot with a gopro would take that path right to the end.

This castle played a large part in UK history and is a world heritage site.
It passed between many hands, I really do think the Welsh dragon should be on the union jack, I mean how cool is that!

You can see from this shot what a perfect position it has, the sea came right up to the rock base when it was built , I presume thats all just sand build up now.

I rode around the awesome Conway castle on the way home, thats a complete castle walled town, fully tourist hotspot, but they did make the effort of matching the railway bridge to the castle, so it kinda looks like an slightly newer extension.

A must visit for castle enthusiasts

Yes Im a castle nut, many years of playing a mmorpg called The Dark age of Camelot.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I rode around the awesome Conway castle on the way home, thats a complete castle walled town, fully tourist hotspot, but they did make the effort of matching the railway bridge to the castle, so it kinda looks like an slightly newer extension.

A cycling friend in Poland who is Welsh but raised in England and naturalized in Poland always talks about Conwy with warm feelings. I think he might be born around!

A photo as shot from the train.

The longest name of a train station in the world!

 

[Art Deco]

A cycling friend in Poland who is Welsh but raised in England and naturalized in Poland always talks about Conwy with warm feelings. I think he might be born around!

View attachment 159056
A photo as shot from the train.

View attachment 159057
The longest name of a train station in the world!

When I was there, our tour guide (a Londoner) said she spent a half a day practicing pronouncing it before the tour.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

A cycling friend in Poland who is Welsh but raised in England and naturalized in Poland always talks about Conwy with warm feelings. I think he might be born around!

View attachment 159056
A photo as shot from the train.

View attachment 159057
The longest name of a train station in the world!

I know the Welsh are fond of their Ls, but 4 in a row???? That must be some kind of record in and of itself.

 

[Twin Valley]

Day 2 – Upper Kananaskis Lake (Peter Lougheed Provincial Park)

We never tire of paddling this lake as the vistas are exceptional particularly when seen from the water.

Mornings are the best time to start as winds funneling down from the peaks later in the day can create choppy conditions for the inexperienced paddler. We got off to a rather late start and by the time we launched it was already past 10:30 am. To make matters worse, we were caught off guard by a large grizzly which came lumbering down the beach looking for any morsels that fishing boats could have left behind at the boat ramp. He was about 100 meters from us as we hurriedly rushed to get in our boats. We shouted to others close by as no one seemed to notice except my wife and I. No pics of the bear as this wasn’t a good time to play chicken.

Once on the water, things settled into place and we took in the views of Mts Lyautey and Sarrail.

View attachment 159015
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Picturesque Turret Falls. Just as it is on two wheels, you see so much more up close on the water.

View attachment 159017

A great day to be on the water as these paddle boarders were casually making their way along the shoreline.

View attachment 159018

A restful place to stop for a snack and take in the views.

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No time to dawdle as the winds picked up and we decided to head back but managed to sneak in a few more shots of the vistas.

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It was an unreal two days of seeing what K-Country has to offer and a stroll down memory lane for the both of us.

Hope to post some video footage of the trip but for the time being we hope that you enjoy the pics.

much nicer there than on the west side of those mountains where we came across 3 new forest fires near Fairmont Hot Springs, BC

- our 4 days of biking turned into 1 decent ride on the Spirit trail and a lot of time on the water with the grandkids then escaped back to Alberta today (for Chargeride - we swam at Windermere, Canadian version, Invermere and Althalmere - grandson asks why do they all have mere on end and I said in Britain they call lakes mere I guess and he says don't they speak English in Britain - out of the mouths of babes ...)

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I know the Welsh are fond of their Ls, but 4 in a row???? That must be some kind of record in and of itself.

Thinking of "ll" as of a single sound (which is not ll!) and separating neighbouring "ll"s with a hyphen would make the thing easier for sure I loved a YT video in which a man was making children sing the long name! (Now I can sing it but not say it!)

(for Chargeride - we swam at Windermere, Canadian version, Invermere and Althalmere - grandson asks why do they all have mere on end and I said in Britain they call lakes mere I guess and he says don't they speak English in Britain - out of the mouths of babes ...)

Of course the English do not speak English! (Tell it to your grandsons to further confuse them!)

 

[Chargeride]

My friend moved to Wales and now his kids talk to each other in Welsh in front of him.
Hes learning it himself to make sure theyre not plotting against him

 

[Chargeride]

Thinking of "ll" as of a single sound (which is not ll!) and separating neighbouring "ll"s with a hyphen would make the thing easier for sure I loved a YT video in which a man was making children sing the long name! (Now I can sing it but not say it!)

Of course the English do not speak English! (Tell it to your grandsons to further confuse them!)

Yes, in canada my friend was asked by a woman in a subway where he was from because his English wasn't very good.
'Im from England' he said.
Woman had her world readjusted.

 

[Brix]

A cycling friend in Poland who is Welsh but raised in England and naturalized in Poland always talks about Conwy with warm feelings. I think he might be born around!

View attachment 159056
A photo as shot from the train.

View attachment 159057
The longest name of a train station in the world!

Photo of the castle by @Brix

 

[dodgeman]

No ride today. It rained a little this morning but not near enough for the crops. I took a screen shot of the local weather, I don’t know how well it shows up but the temperature is 95 with a heat index of 108. I’ll just stay inside where it’s cool.

 

[RabH]

Last night I came up with a route which would mean putting the bike in the car and driving to Kincardine around 20 miles away and taking the inland route to St Andrews and then heading down the coast road on the way back before cutting inland past Knockhill! It would have been around 110 miles and I wouldn't have the big climbs at the end like I do if I leave from home! Leaving from home wasn't an option today as it would have been over 150 miles and I had just completed a tough ride on Monday! I got up at 5am this morning and the rain was pouring down! I had a look at the forecast and it wasn't very nice at all so I looked at the forecast further up the road and it was looking much more promising, so I decided to just keep driving until I reached the better weather! 50 miles of driving later I reached Milnathort and it was so much better and the real bonus was dry roads, still some dodgy clouds around but they made for some nice photos!

The road to Gateside at 6.45am!

The Lomond Hills to the south!

I was nearing the bigger town of Cupar and I had a really nice view of Mount Hill to the north with the Hopetoun Monument perched on top! The monument was erected by the people of Cupar in 1826 in memory of the British soldier John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun!

I was glad to get through Cupar as it was starting to get busy, another couple of miles and I reached Dairsie and was now only 6 miles from St Andrews and the nice weather continued!

The farmers are sure kept busy around here!

The road into St Andrews is always busy but thankfully they built a cycle path alongside it, just across the water is the former RAF base at Leuchars which is now an army base! My dad used to take me to the Leuchars Airshow back in the day, it was always extremely busy!

I arrived in St Andrews at 8.15am and there was already people in the sea paddle boarding, you couldn't pay me to get in that water as its ice cold!

I have been to St Andrews about 5 times this year and this is the first time the tide has actually been in!

The harbour with the castle in the background which dates back to the 13th century!

I now had the big climb out of St Andrews on the coast road to Crail, the first proper climb since I set off! I had a nice view of the town near the top!

The coast road was pretty quiet thankfully and I was loving all the twists and turns, its mostly flat and downhill all the way to Crail!

The tiny harbour at Crail!

The weather was still holding up but the further I got down the coast the darker it was getting, soon I started to feel some rain in the air! It was pretty mild so I wasn't too bothered about it, I reached the village of East Wemyss and the rain was getting heavier and looking down the coast it was a wall of grey clouds and looking like it was only going to get worse! I arrived in Kirkcaldy and the rain had actually stopped, as you can see it was a bit damp on the promenade!

Amazingly the sky started to brighten up as I was leaving Kirkcaldy and I even got a bit of warm sun for about 2 minutes... I continued down the coast to Burntisland having now covered just under 70 miles with less than 2000 ft of climbing, very different from my neck of the woods! I had 29% left on my first battery but decided to change to my second one as the real climbs were about to start, my intention was to head for Knockhill so I thought I should check the weather to see what was in store! Heavy rain was expected around 1pm and then it was meant to clear up, I worked out I would be there around 2pm so decided to chance it!

Pretty much all the way from Burtisland to Knockhill is uphill but there are also some nice descents to enjoy, the descent into Kelty is a very fast one and I reached 42.8mph despite the headwind which wasn't a strong one though! Amazingly it was still dry, although a lot of the roads were wet so obviously it had been raining pretty heavily! I was now climbing up to Knockhill and was looking forward to the descent all the way down to Powmill which is around 5 miles of twists and turns!

The first descent past the entrance to the racing circuit and the roads were starting to dry up now!

After another big descent there is a little uphill on this straight road, this is looking back towards the circuit!

The next part is amazing all the way down to Powmill, I know it like the back of my hand so I could really put the hammer down and have a real blast on this descent! Once I reached Powmill I had to use the main road which can be very busy with trucks, amazingly when I reached the end of the road before turning into the village there was no traffic in sight! The road back to the car from here was mostly flat or downhill so my climbing was finished now, I was nearing Crook of Devon and looked back to see a line of traffic heading my way with quite a few trucks in the line so I pulled off the road for a break and a final snack!

There was a nice path here but sadly it was a short one so wasn't really an option!

One final picture of the hills before arriving back at the car!

I took all 3 batteries with me to be safe but only needed 2, my second battery dropped to 19% just as I reached the car! I feared the worst this morning with all the rain but my luck was in for sure and I never got soaked! What a brilliant day that was once again, tomorrow I will be having a well deserved rest day! I think I will sleep for about 10 hours tonight...

 

[Prairie Dog]

View attachment 159093

Last night I came up with a route which would mean putting the bike in the car and driving to Kincardine around 20 miles away and taking the inland route to St Andrews and then heading down the coast road on the way back before cutting inland past Knockhill! It would have been around 110 miles and I wouldn't have the big climbs at the end like I do if I leave from home! Leaving from home wasn't an option today as it would have been over 150 miles and I had just completed a tough ride on Monday! I got up at 5am this morning and the rain was pouring down! I had a look at the forecast and it wasn't very nice at all so I looked at the forecast further up the road and it was looking much more promising, so I decided to just keep driving until I reached the better weather! 50 miles of driving later I reached Milnathort and it was so much better and the real bonus was dry roads, still some dodgy clouds around but they made for some nice photos!

The road to Gateside at 6.45am!

View attachment 159094
The Lomond Hills to the south!

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I was nearing the bigger town of Cupar and I had a really nice view of Mount Hill to the north with the Hopetoun Monument perched on top! The monument was erected by the people of Cupar in 1826 in memory of the British soldier John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun!

View attachment 159098
I was glad to get through Cupar as it was starting to get busy, another couple of miles and I reached Dairsie and was now only 6 miles from St Andrews and the nice weather continued!

The farmers are sure kept busy around here!

View attachment 159099
The road into St Andrews is always busy but thankfully they built a cycle path alongside it, just across the water is the former RAF base at Leuchars which is now an army base! My dad used to take me to the Leuchars Airshow back in the day, it was always extremely busy!

View attachment 159100
I arrived in St Andrews at 8.15am and there was already people in the sea paddle boarding, you couldn't pay me to get in that water as its ice cold!

View attachment 159102
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I have been to St Andrews about 5 times this year and this is the first time the tide has actually been in!

The harbour with the castle in the background which dates back to the 13th century!

View attachment 159104
I now had the big climb out of St Andrews on the coast road to Crail, the first proper climb since I set off! I had a nice view of the town near the top!

View attachment 159105
View attachment 159106
The coast road was pretty quiet thankfully and I was loving all the twists and turns, its mostly flat and downhill all the way to Crail!

The tiny harbour at Crail!

View attachment 159107
The weather was still holding up but the further I got down the coast the darker it was getting, soon I started to feel some rain in the air! It was pretty mild so I wasn't too bothered about it, I reached the village of East Wemyss and the rain was getting heavier and looking down the coast it was a wall of grey clouds and looking like it was only going to get worse! I arrived in Kirkcaldy and the rain had actually stopped, as you can see it was a bit damp on the promenade!

View attachment 159108
Amazingly the sky started to brighten up as I was leaving Kirkcaldy and I even got a bit of warm sun for about 2 minutes... I continued down the coast to Burntisland having now covered just under 70 miles with less than 2000 ft of climbing, very different from my neck of the woods! I had 29% left on my first battery but decided to change to my second one as the real climbs were about to start, my intention was to head for Knockhill so I thought I should check the weather to see what was in store! Heavy rain was expected around 1pm and then it was meant to clear up, I worked out I would be there around 2pm so decided to chance it!

Pretty much all the way from Burtisland to Knockhill is uphill but there are also some nice descents to enjoy, the descent into Kelty is a very fast one and I reached 42.8mph despite the headwind which wasn't a strong one though! Amazingly it was still dry, although a lot of the roads were wet so obviously it had been raining pretty heavily! I was now climbing up to Knockhill and was looking forward to the descent all the way down to Powmill which is around 5 miles of twists and turns!

The first descent past the entrance to the racing circuit and the roads were starting to dry up now!

View attachment 159112
After another big descent there is a little uphill on this straight road, this is looking back towards the circuit!

View attachment 159113
The next part is amazing all the way down to Powmill, I know it like the back of my hand so I could really put the hammer down and have a real blast on this descent! Once I reached Powmill I had to use the main road which can be very busy with trucks, amazingly when I reached the end of the road before turning into the village there was no traffic in sight! The road back to the car from here was mostly flat or downhill so my climbing was finished now, I was nearing Crook of Devon and looked back to see a line of traffic heading my way with quite a few trucks in the line so I pulled off the road for a break and a final snack!

There was a nice path here but sadly it was a short one so wasn't really an option!

View attachment 159115
One final picture of the hills before arriving back at the car!

View attachment 159116
I took all 3 batteries with me to be safe but only needed 2, my second battery dropped to 19% just as I reached the car! I feared the worst this morning with all the rain but my luck was in for sure and I never got soaked! What a brilliant day that was once again, tomorrow I will be having a well deserved rest day! I think I will sleep for about 10 hours tonight...

Another awesome ride, dude! The view from above the harbor, in particular, is spectacular.